LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Have we learned?

Editor, the Journal,

After nearly 75 years, Capitol Lake will be turned back into an estuary, a decision demonstrating we have learned that estuaries are a biologically rich environment playing an important role in the lives of many species.

Or have we?  Near Capitol Lake, at the end of Hammersley Inlet, is the beautiful natural estuary of Oakland Bay.  Our state government - the Department of Natural Resources - is considering whether to lease publicly owned aquatic lands and water for a privately owned, 50-acre floating aquaculture system of 30,000 plastic bags for growing nonnative Pacific oysters blanketing a third of the estuary that is home for summer and fall chum salmon, ESA-listed chinook salmon and steelhead, a resting and foraging place for winter migrating seabirds, and is frequently visited by killer whales.

Such an immense project has never been constructed anywhere.  No studies have been conducted to understand the project's impact on ecological function, in contrast to the decades-long investment in Deschutes Estuary studies.  Citizens concerned with trading Oakland Bay's fully functioning, natural estuary for a gigantic, unnatural industrial aquaculture project were not served by the extensive public engagement process of the Capitol Lake project. 

The Capitol Lake decision is a sign of hope for the future, just as hope springs from restoration of the Nisqually River estuary and removal of Elwha River dams.  Protection of existing estuarine habitat like Oakland Bay should be a priority.  After all, the decision to reverse course with Capitol Lake and the Deschutes River estuary could cost an estimated $150 to $250 million.  The decision to preserve the existing, properly functioning estuary and ecosystem of Oakland Bay will cost nothing.

Patrick Pattillo, Olympia

Gun insanity

Editor, the Journal,

What a go-around we have had about right-to-life issues and gun control. On Jan. 4, Katherine Price brought some sanity to the issue. The No. 1 killer of children under 20 years old is guns, but it gets even worse if you dig deeper. Eighty percent of homicides in the U.S. are gun related, compared to the UK, where the number is 4%. The problem is not nit-picking about semi-automatic vs. automatic weapons, but gun death rates. The rate is out of control.

Let's go back to the Second Amendment - it was really about two things. 1) Keeping the king of England from taking back his "colony" and 2) Allowing large land owners in the South to retrieve their chattel labor unabated. Isn't it about time to move to the 21st century? Let's have some common sense about gun ownership - background checks and registration, the same as almost all professions in this country. Oh, and the king of England has no chance of getting his colony back, and slavery has been eliminated.

Let the background-checked people have their guns, but put some "teeth" into the law by making it a mandatory 25-plus year sentence for parents who allow their child to have guns when they commit one of the 632 mass murders we've seen in 2023. Hasn't everybody had just about had enough? Oh, and last, Katie Groves, birth control should never be used for population control. Try tax incentives.

Dr. Bill Busacca, Shelton

Capitalism vs. oligopoly

Editor, the Journal,

The year 2024 has a major election. The GOP would have you believe that this will be a choice between capitalism and socialism. It isn't. It is a choice between capitalism and oligopoly. Republicans are the party of oligopoly. Let's look at their leader. He never expresses praise for democratically elected leaders. His praise is reserved for China, Russia and North Korea. In every case it is for leaders who run their nations for the benefit of a handful of people at the top.

This isn't unusual for Republicans. They have been destroying the idea of functional marketplaces since the '80s. Their legal ideas convinced courts to undermine anti-trust law to favor fewer, larger corporations under the guise of the theoretical ability to deliver lower prices for consumers. Let's look at a case study that will affect you directly, the lack of competition in Mason County grocery stores.

There are only six grocery stores in our county. Market Fresh in Hoodsport, Walmart, Safeway (Albertson's owned) in Belfair and Shelton, QFC (Kroger owned in Belfair, and Fred Meyer (Kroger owned) in Shelton. So, you really have four sellers. But soon we will be down to Market Fresh, one Walmart and four Kroger/Albertson's stores. Lack of competition means they can raise prices just because they can. You need food and there is nowhere else to go. This is oligopoly, the Republican model. That and more tax cuts, paid for with your Social Security.

Justice Brandeis stated that "We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Republicans introduced neo-liberal economics and we have followed it since 1981. They have given us concentrated wealth. And they ruthlessly attack the fundamental of a democratic republic. They are the party of oligarchs. They worship oligarchs.

Andrew Makar, Hoodsport

A worthy interview

Editor, the Journal,

Today as I type this letter it has been three years from the attack on our Capitol. About 900 scumbag rioters have been convicted. Good! I have learned a lot in the last three years about all of the appalling stuff that other scumbag buckets of people did to help hinder the peaceful transfer of power here in our country. And I am still learning more stuff from all of the ongoing court proceedings.

A few weeks ago I saw Liz Cheney, the politician, being interviewed by Rachel Maddow, the journalist. The main topics discussed were Jan. 6 and Donald Trump. The interview was polite and courteous and informative. Both women are very intelligent, very articulate, very confidant and very American. I was watching play out in the interview an example of the ying and the yang, the right and the left, and the alpha and the omega. And they were talking and getting to the meat of the topics at hand. I enjoyed the interview.

After watching the interview, I came up with a very personal and biased idea. Consider that Liz Cheney runs for president and her running mate would be Rachel Maddow. Again, with my very personal and biased idea, I think that this duet pair would be good for America.

Earl W. Burt, Bremerton

Respect people with dwarfism

Editor, the Journal,

Persons who have dwarfism (also referred to as Little People, or LPs) frequently experience employment discrimination. Although they can perform any job task well (often needing only a stool), employers frequently reject them during interview.

Bars and strip clubs exploit the resulting financial problems by hiring LPs for "dwarf tossing" events. This is where bar patrons pay to physically throw an LP in front of a crowd of laughing and jeering customers.

LPs very frequently have skeletal (especially spinal) issues requiring multiple surgeries. Thus many LPs participating in these events become severely disabled or even die from participating in these bar events.

In 2019 and 2020, the Legislature considered SB5486, a measure to make Washington the third state to ban such bar events. I urge our state representatives and senators to reintroduce this bill early in the session. This bill must pass this year.

Little Persons are people, not objects to be abused for sadistic pleasure. The solution to their financial difficulties is to end employment discrimination, not to allow others to exploit their desperation.

David Bart, Olympia